This series is an ever-growing concept within my mind. It probably 
differs greatly from the traditional view of the OAV 3, but this is not intended 
to be the OAV 3. This is my vision of what might happen in the OAVs after 
Episode 13, and it encompasses all of the series. I apologize in advance for all 
the changes I will make to the characters, but one of the things the OAV 
stresses most is character growth, and in order for the cast to reach their 
literary destination, there must be a lot of that. I am not using any of the 
True Tenchi books as bases for this story, this comes all from me, so please 
take that into consideration. And now the legalese. Tenchi and the gang belong 
to AIC/Pioneer LCD and are not mine. Tanell is based on the fire-lizards from 
the *Dragonriders of Pern* series and is not mine. Karasu belongs to me. To gain 
permission to use her or to make comments and suggestions, E-mail me at 
QueenIsis94@aol.com. Don't be shy.
          
       Tenchi Muyo: Manifest Destiny!
       
         Episode 5: Ayeka and Tokimi
         
          	Kyoshin, Marshal of the Galaxy Police, listened intently to the 
report of his Special Corps General, who looked much the worse for wear. He was 
black and blue all over, with a cast over his ribs and one of his arms. He 
sported a bandage over his head, where a cut had sliced off both the hair and 
the skin of his skull. To top it all off, several teeth were missing.
          	And he was one of the better-off Special Corpsmen. Kyoshin listened 
to the Special Corpsman rattling off a wild tale about an Earthling boy with a 
ken of Jurai and an Earthling woman who moved like greased lightning with a 
polite, gentle expression on his face. This kind and caring facade he had 
cultivated was really very useful. It made his men, even the talentless pawns 
that the Special Corpsmen were, believe he believed in them. 
          	"Where is the Grand Master, General?" he quietly asked the General. 
The Grand Master was the only member of the Special Corpsmen he had sent to 
Earth to retrieve his granddaughter and the space pirate Ryoko who Tokimi had 
bothered to endow with her special gifts. 
          	"Dead, Marshal, sir. Sub-Chief Kiyone of Galaxy Police Station Seven 
shot him."
          	"How did Kiyone have the means to kill the Grand Master?" Kyoshin 
asked, genuinely curious. Kiyone was the most intelligent and best shot of the 
younger Galaxy Police--that was why he had made her partner to his well-meaning 
but hopelessly stupid granddaughter. There were few things in the universe that 
Kyoshin truly cared about, but one of them was his scatterbrained granddaughter. 
She was one of the few people who could make him laugh with joy.
          	"I already told you, sir--our guns weren't working. The triggers 
were jammed. None of them would go off."
          	"Even the Grand Master's?" Kyoshin asked. The Grand Master's magic, 
endowed to him by Lady Tokimi, should have been more than equal to whatever 
primitive mumbo-jumbo the Earthlings had cooked up. Kyoshin took a small sip of 
Jurian lifewater, a gift from King Azusa.
          	"Yes, sir, even his." Kyoshin frowned. Had he underestimated Ryoko? 
Unlikely. There were rumors she was living with the First Princess of Jurai--
that could be the reason. Members of the Jurian Royal Family had powers unheard 
of anywhere else in the universe. Not even Ryoko could equal them. He wished his 
granddaughter's report had gone to him before it was intercepted by the Holy 
Council of Jurai. How did that woman Funaho know so much? He had never been able 
to find any of her informers, and he had looked very hard. Funaho, he knew, was 
not a worshiper of Tokimi. The King of Jurai had seen fit not to inform his 
wives on his religious beliefs, a good thing since he had declared worship of 
Tokimi blasphemy in an attempt to cover his tracks. But Funaho might know 
anyway, Kyoshin reluctantly concluded. That woman had ways of gathering 
knowledge that were so subtle that sometimes not even the King knew where she 
got her information.
          	"Very well. If that is all you have to report, I will let you dock 
and report to the hospital quarters. Once you are recovered, I will find you 
duties more suited to your abilities." Kyoshin idly wondered how his small band 
of Spycatchers were doing. It was a long flight from Central Command to Earth's 
solar system. But he had no doubt that they would succeed in their goal. He had 
used them for millennia for situations like this. They were the best. Kyoshin 
hoped Kiyone survived this. He had hopes of making her a Spycatcher one day.
          
          		"Ahh! *Purely for Priestesses!"* Washu said, lounging on the 
couch in Noboyuki's living room. She had created it from the plans of Noboyuki's 
dream house. Her lab had been the one thing left intact after Mihoshi had 
crashed into it, and she had simply built the new house around it. It had saved 
a lot of time and money, but, more importantly, it had saved her from having 
nightly intrusions into her lab. "This show is the greatest! I've wondered why 
the humans haven't even come close to realizing the full potential of their 
sister race. This show helps a lot!"
          	"Yes, it is a purely Priestess concept," Karasu said cheerfully. 
"But this is only one of the Priestess channels. This specializes in drama and 
dramady. There are others. *Simply for Sorceresses* deals in romance, 
*Wonderfully Wizardess* in comedy, *Witch Word* in current events, and so forth. 
Even better, the only way to access them is to press this button on the remote," 
and Karasu pointed to an amber-colored button on the remote's front, "and then 
press in channels from 440 to 449. Most likely Noboyuki will never even suspect 
what I did!"
          	"You think I don't know that?" Washu asked. She put her hands behind 
her head and laid back. She was silent for a while, watching the show, and then 
finally said, "All right. What do I have to do in order for you to put them up?"
          	"It's really very simple. First, I want you to run a search on your 
Computer in order to identify all the D3 sympathizers. It should be easy--they 
all wear that double-eyebrow style I saw on the Special Corpsman and you saw on 
Clay. Secondly, I want you to inventory what artifacts Clay and Kagato stole and 
what Kagato had Ryoko steal, and sort them by category and intended purpose."	
          	"That's *all?*" Washu asked in surprise. "That's just busywork! I'd 
owe you far more than that if you were true to your word!"
          	"I know," Karasu said. "But we're friends here, and Family. 
Bargaining does not come into the picture. Family would do anything for Family 
just because they're Family!" She smiled. "Besides, you're the only one who 
*can* do this for me. Most Priestesses' Books only carry information about their 
home planets, and mine only has information on Earth and Jurai. And Tsunami's 
still adding the mythological stuff. Your Computer covers the entire galaxy, so 
it's far more appropriate for this sort of work."
          	"It's a good thing flattery doesn't work for me, Karasu, or you'd 
have me eating out of your hand by now!" Both Washu and Karasu laughed heartily.
          	"Hmmph!" Karasu and Washu turned and saw Ryoko, silhouetted in the 
sliding door, standing in the hallway that separated the kitchen from the living 
room. She abruptly vanished as they watched.
          	"What's with her, I wonder?" Washu asked, sounding genuinely 
perplexed.
          	"Maybe she's jealous of the time we spend together," Karasu said in 
a tone that managed to be both soft and accusatory.
          	Washu snapped, "What? Impossible! We're mother and daughter! You and 
I are only friends, no matter *what* views you may have on the concept of 
Family. Ryoko and I are *real* family, and that transcends all sense of Pack 
loyalty in humanoids, I'll have you know!"
          	"Then why do I never see you doing things with her, only working in 
your lab, playing striptease with various members of this household and spending 
time with me?" Karasu asked. "Washu, I know you and Ryoko are mother and 
daughter, but she never knew you growing up. And even when a mother-daughter 
bond is fully established, it takes a lot of quality time with your child to 
maintain it. I know you want Ryoko to be a stable, mature person, but no matter 
what you do to her, she'll never achieve that unless she has a sense of feeling 
loved. And you've always wanted a family, Washu. This would give you one in the 
truest sense of the word as used by humanoids."
          	Washu looked annoyed. "How do *you* know all this?" 
          	"Don't try to change the subject," Karasu said sternly.
          	"All right," Washu said after a very long pause. "Let's say you have 
a point. I'll try it. But if it works, I'm disavowing any knowledge of this 
conversation."
          	"Fair deal." Karasu and Washu shook hands. They watched the rest of 
the show in mutual silence, Karasu respecting Washu's need for silence in 
digesting the advice she had given her. After the show was over, Karasu said, 
"Well, I'm off for bed. We have to make this look normal, after all. If we want 
to do our little nighttime foray, we can't have people suspecting anything. What 
would we look like?"
          	"You're probably right," Washu conceded. "I'll go to my lab and do 
the searches you asked me to do, and maybe some other stuff, too. Meet me there 
at 2400 hours."
          
          	Ryoko stormed outside, feeling the familiar, comforting feeling of 
rage that was so familiar to her well up in the depths of her soul. It had been 
largely gone after she'd assimilated with Zero, and Ryoko felt bereft without 
it. She teased Ayeka and kept up her usual arrogant exterior just for 
appearances, but something was missing. After Yosho had taken away her gems--and 
with them, Kagato's control over her--it had been easier to feel rage than 
anything else. Rage at Yosho, for imprisoning her. Rage at Kagato, for enslaving 
her. Rage at the universe in general. And now it was gone. Her only instrument 
for dealing with the world was gone, and she didn't know how to cope without it. 
But now it was coming back. And Ryoko  hoped it would stay. Snarling, she kicked 
a bag of garbage far away into the woods.
          	"Ryoko! What did you think you were doing? I was going to bring that 
garbage up to be towed!" Ryoko turned and saw Kiyone standing behind her. She 
sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Story of my life. What's bothering you, 
anyway?"
          	"Nothing's bothering me!" Ryoko yelled. Her red tail stood straight 
out behind her back, denying the statement. "Just leave me alone! I don't need 
you. I don't need anyone!" To her intense shame, when she blinked tears trickled 
down her face.
          	Kiyone sighed. "Ryoko, something obviously is bothering you. I was a 
detective for 500 years--I'm pretty good at reading body language. If you don't 
want to tell me, that's all right. But you sometimes feel better if you tell 
your problems to a friend."
          	Ryoko was silent, tears streaming down her face. Her fists were 
balled tightly.
          	"Oh . . . I see," said Kiyone after a while. "You've never . . . ? 
Well, I'll be your friend, Ryoko. I could use someone around here to talk to 
besides Mihoshi."
          	Ryoko turned. "But why would you want to be friends with me? I'm a 
ruthless space pirate and you're a member of the Galaxy Police."
          	"More unlikely combinations have been made," said Kiyone. "Besides, 
the way I heard it you were under Kagato's control your whole life and therefore 
were not responsible for your actions. If anyone should be held responsible, 
it's him." Kiyone sat down. Ryoko haltingly followed her.
          	"If you must know, it's Washu," Ryoko said after a while. "She 
spends all her time with Karasu! It's like Karasu is her daughter, not me. What 
does that flat-chested reptile have that I don't have? Especially since we found 
out she's a demon, and she started acting so weird."
          	"You're jealous of Karasu because she's monopolizing Washu's time?" 
Kiyone asked in surprise. "I thought you hated her."
          	"I do!" Ryoko declared. "It's just . . . she should try to include 
me in her life, too."
          	"You *are* jealous," Kiyone said. "Ryoko, if you want to get closer 
to your mother, you should try to play a more active role in starting the 
relationship. Ask if Washu would like to spend some time with you, or even just 
talk for a while. Washu may be a little strange, but she'll see the effort 
you're trying to make and acknowledge it. You'll see."
          	"So . . . this is what friends do?" Ryoko asked. "Advise each other 
on problems?"
          	"That among many other things," Kiyone said. "Sometimes we just talk 
about anything, or do things together, or even just be a shoulder to cry on. You 
won't regret being friends with me, Ryoko. I promise." Kiyone stood up. "Well, 
now I'd better get that trash bag. I hope it hasn't broken open . . . although 
with my luck it probably has."
          	"No!" Ryoko said. "Friends help each other out, right? I'll go get 
it for you. I know where it fell." She disappeared and moments later 
materialized back with the trash bag. Surprisingly it had not broken. "See? I 
did good, right?"
          	Kiyone smiled. "Why don't you go to bed, Ryoko? I'll see you in the 
morning." Ryoko nodded and walked inside. Kiyone stayed outside a little longer, 
feeling her forehead, under her red bandanna, throb. Was her facial deformity 
making her feel good? All she knew was that she had done what was right, and 
that made her feel fulfilled. This fulfilling feeling was what had made her join 
the Galaxy Police in the first place. She stared up at the sky, reveling in the 
happy feeling. "Maybe my luck is finally changing," she whispered to herself. 
The bottom of the trash bag abruptly fell out. "Or maybe not," Kiyone sighed.
          
          	Later that night, or more properly early the next morning, Karasu 
walked silently across the living room, not even waking Ryoko, who was asleep on 
one of the ceiling beams, and entered Washu's lab. Washu was waiting for her. 
"You're late," she said.
          	Karasu shrugged. "I fell into a doze. I'm not like you, Washu. I 
need to sleep."
          	"Oh well," said Washu. "This won't take long, anyway. Are you sure 
Ayeka drank what you put into her tea?" 
          	"I saw it myself." 
          	"All right, let's go then!" Washu opened the door to her lab, which 
suddenly opened into Ayeka's and Sasami's room. Ayeka was fast asleep, a puddle 
of drool on her pillow. "Wow, she's really dead to the world, isn't she? Just 
exactly how much of that stuff did you put into her tea, Karasu?"
          	"I wasn't sure how someone of Jurian blood would react to it, plus 
there's that added uncertainty, so I guessed. I've learned to trust my instincts 
over the years. I'm more worried about Sasami myself."
          	"You needn't worry about her. Tsunami knows what we're doing, and 
she'll keep her asleep even if it means she wets her bed."
          	Karasu nodded, and moved silently over to Ayeka's pillow. Tanell 
appeared next to her, and climbed on her shoulder. Karasu brushed back Ayeka's 
bangs and stared at her head ornament in surprise. "Washu, look at this!" she 
whispered urgently.
          	"Well, would you look at that!" Washu whispered. An oval-shaped 
piece of wood lay in the middle of Ayeka's head ornament, going down vertically 
and surrounded by other oval-shaped decorations. "It looks a little like the 
gods' pattern,"  Washu whispered in awe. "But it could be a coincidence . . . 
and that oval shape could be just more decoration."  
          	"Let's see . . . hmm, it hooks in the back, huh Tannie?"  Karasu 
gently rotated Ayeka until her face was in her pillow. She breathed heavier but 
did not wake up. Carefully reaching through Ayeka's thick straight hair, she 
removed the head ornament. Before turning her back over, she said to Washu, "All 
right. If we find what we think we will, I'll need you to confirm this." Washu 
nodded and crawled over. Karasu gently turned over Ayeka.
          	A single jewel on the left side of her forehead sparkled. Although 
Karasu and Washu had to brush away her heavy bangs to see it clearly, the 
sparkle of the jewel was unmistakable. It was oval-shaped, fixed vertically in 
the center in her head. Even in the darkness, Washu could see that the jewel was 
a bright scarlet. "Yes, this belongs to Tokimi, all right," Washu whispered, her 
voice hushed in awe. "The most powerful of my sisters is partially assimilated 
into the First Princess of Jurai."
          	"But what would have happened that Tokimi would have had to do 
that?" Karasu whispered, in fear instead of awe.
          	"I don't know. But obviously it wasn't good." Washu fingered her 
neck, obviously missing her collar with her oval jewel on it. Karasu had often 
wondered why Washu didn't assimilate with it--anyone with second sight could see 
that it was a real gem. But she didn't question Washu's choice on that. Washu's 
life was hers to live.
          	Karasu noticed a videocassette propped up on one of Ayeka's log-
shaped cabinets. Out of pure curiosity, she picked it up soundlessly and, making 
it invisible, held it in her right hand. Maybe it held a video of Tenchi in the 
buff. Who knew? Then her attention was drawn back to Tokimi's gem and why it was 
there. One thing was for sure: it was a bad sign. Deities usually only 
permanently put their entire awareness in a mortal body out of desperation.
          	"We *have* to figure this out," Karasu said. Then she yawned hugely. 
"But at some later time. I'm exhausted. I need sleep." Putting Ayeka's head 
ornament back on, she went into Washu's lab, followed by Washu. 
          	"Oh, by the way, Karasu," Washu said, "I finished those searches you 
wanted. I have the results for you, if you want to see them before you sleep."
	
          	"I'll see them in the morning," Karasu said. "If I see them now, I 
won't be able to make anything of them, my mind's so frazzled."
          	"All right!" said Washu. "Goodnight, Karasu!"
          	"'Night, Washu," Karasu said and left the lab for her nest. Washu 
was glad in a way that Karasu hadn't decided to see the results, for they 
disturbed her in a way that went right down to the bone, and the night's 
findings hadn't helped any. Her eldest sister was in trouble, and she didn't 
even know how to reach her!	
          
          	Tenchi woke the next morning very abruptly, sitting up in bed fully 
awake. Another night terror. He'd suffered from night terrors since he was 
little. His grandfather and father attributed this to his mother's sudden death, 
but he recalled having them when she was alive, so that couldn't be it. Anyway, 
the dreams he had weren't very scary--he couldn't remember most of them, he 
simply remembered sensations of heat and fighting and then, finally, being 
enveloped in a love that was eternal. Nothing scary at all.
          	He got dressed and, in the dim light of false dawn, went out to 
plant their fourth carrot crop. He had already finished harvesting the third. He 
didn't understand why farmers had so much trouble growing carrots, that they 
only came up with one harvest a year. You could harvest them five or six times 
if you did it right.
          	Working on planting carrots was hard, but it distracted him from the 
nagging unease that he had felt ever since he had gotten up. For once, no one 
came outside to help him, even when the sun rose high in the sky. That was odd. 
Usually Karasu at least came to help. Then he saw a small figure run towards 
him, and the sound of crying. Sasami rushed up to him and hugged him tightly. 
"Tenchi, you've got to come quickly!" she begged between sobs. "There's 
something wrong with Ayeka. We can't wake her up, Tenchi!"
          	Tenchi's heart actually skipped a beat. "Let's go back right now, 
Sasami," he said, hoping he didn't sound as worried as he felt.
          
          	Earlier that morning, Karasu had gone to Washu's lab to find out the 
results of her search. Greeted by a cheery Washu who was still dressed in the 
same clothes as last night, Karasu found herself resenting Washu's ability to 
only sleep when she felt like it. Perusing Washu's Computer, Karasu nodded. "Hmm 
. . . yes. As far as I can tell, there are only two really important people with 
the double-eyebrow mark: Marshal Kyoshin of the Galaxy Police--,"
          	"And Azusa, the King of Jurai," Washu said with a sigh. "And I 
checked last night on your other search . . . Kagato, Ryoko, and Clay went after 
only religious artifacts that had something to do with Tokimi worship. The rest 
they left alone or destroyed."
          	"This is worse than Tsunami initially led me to believe," Karasu 
sighed. "Man . . . this is gonna take a while. It makes me hungry just thinking 
about it."
          	"Well, we have some time," said Washu. "So cheer up! After we find 
Tokimi, things should move much faster."
          	"But there's something bothering me about this, Washu," Karasu said. 
"As an Elder Goddess, Tokimi should be present everywhere and everywhen in the 
Multiverse, reachable at any time. So why can't we locate her?"
          	"Huh. That never occurred to me," said Washu. "But I'll look into 
it."
          	"Oh, by the way, Washu, where did Ayeka get this tape?" Karasu held 
up the videocassette she had borrowed from Ayeka early that morning.
          	"I gave it to her as part of a bargain. It's okay if you watch it--
just don't tell Ayeka you did. She'll want to keep this to herself, I think!" 
Washu chortled. 
          	Karasu gave Washu a strange look. "Ohhhkay. Meanwhile, let's go up 
for breakfast. It's late today because Sasami got some of my herbs into her tea 
and slept in."
          	They went out of Washu's lab and entered the kitchen. Sasami wasn't 
there, only Ryo'oki in her cabbit body looking longingly at the refrigerator. 
"Meow?" she asked plaintively. "Where's Sasami, I wonder?" Washu asked.
          	"Let's ask," Karasu said. "Hey, Mihoshi! Where's Sasami?"
          	Mihoshi, who was sleeping in a corner, woke up. After she came to 
her senses, she said, "Sasami? That's funny you should ask, because I haven't 
seen her around for a while. She came down for a while, but then she went 
upstairs. She was in her room, I think. She was worried because Ayeka wouldn't 
wake up. I think it's good that Ayeka's getting a lot of sleep, what with her 
being sick and all. I haven't seen her since, though."
          	Washu watched her daughter talk with Kiyone with a genuinely pleased 
look on her face. "Hmm. Ryoko made a friend." Then she turned back to Karasu. 
Mihoshi had gone back to sleep. "You don't think it was your herbs . . ."
          	"Can't be," Karasu said definitively. "All they do is relax the body 
to an extreme state. Ayeka would have woken up by now. She *should* have woken 
up by now."
          	"Well, it can't be . . . Nahhh." Washu dismissed her unspoken 
thought.
          	Sasami rushed down the stairs, weeping with the lack of restraint 
that characterized children. "Tenchi, Tenchi!" she wailed, and ran out the door.
          	Karasu sighed. "Well, it looks like I'm making breakfast!"
          
          	The members of the Masaki residence were finished with breakfast by 
the time Tenchi and Sasami got back. Karasu had made a spicy omelette with hot 
peppers and beef in it, not to mention onions and red peppers. Although everyone 
drank a lot during the meal, no one could deny that Karasu was a good cook. 
Kiyone remarked on Ayeka's absence, but attributed it to her sickness. Karasu 
had even remembered to put a bowl of carrots out for Ryo'oki, who ate them in 
her childform. 
          	But as the various members of the Masaki residence went to do chores 
and engage in recreational activities, Sasami, still crying, ran in, practically 
dragging Tenchi after her. "What's wrong with Ayeka? Why are you all acting so 
casually?" Tenchi demanded. 
          	"Sasami, is this true? Is Ayeka ill?" Yosho asked.
          	"Yes, and it's the affliction! She has all the symptoms! Her pulse 
is irregular, she's fevered but shivers, and she's mumbling words in a language 
I don't understand!" Sasami wailed.
          	"Affliction? What affliction? What are you talking about?" Tenchi 
cried.
          	"Tenchi! Calm down!" Yosho reprimanded his grandson. "We should all 
go see Ayeka. Although there is probably little we can do, we can still be with 
her."
          
          	Ayeka's breathing was shallow, and sweat dripped down on her face 
from behind her head ornament. Her hair was dripping wet, and her braids were 
coming loose, and she continued to mutter and occasionally cry out in a language 
no one admitted to have knowledge of.
          	Tenchi ran to the bathroom, got a bucket, and began to rub Ayeka 
with cold water from a washcloth. His eyes never left the Jurian princess. 
"Grandpa, can't you use Ryu'o's Light Hawk Wings to heal her?" he asked.
          	"I'm afraid not," Yosho said sadly. "Although Jurian trees grow 
faster than the ones on Earth, Ryu'o in its present state is not old enough to 
generate Light Hawk Wings. Besides, it probably would not work. Ayeka's had this 
affliction ever since she hit puberty, and we've tried to use Ryu'o to generate 
Light Hawk Wings to heal her before. The Wings were never successful. There were 
. . . problems bonding Ryu'o to Ayeka. No one knows why. And Ayeka's illness is 
not known anywhere else in the galaxy. As far as we know, the only cure is 
time."
          	"It's because there are two of her," a voice spoken through the mind 
asserted. "There are two Ayekas. Only one is not Ayeka, yet. Do you see?" 
Everyone looked around for the speaker, but no one had spoken. Karasu's pet 
dragon Tanell had appeared and was sitting on Ayeka's chest, but there was no 
one else.
          	"That's quite enough out of you, I think," Karasu said in a voice 
eerily similar to the first speaker, and gathered Tanell in her arms.
          	"Wait a minute," Kiyone said, past events linking together in her 
mind. "Tanell was the one who spoke just then, wasn't she? Your pet really 
telepathic?"
          	"Yes, she is, but that's not at issue now," Karasu said. She bent 
over and sniffed Ayeka's body. "Hmm. Doesn't smell sick. More like the smell of 
a person who's been exercising all day." She turned and faced Yosho. "All right, 
Crown Prince of Jurai. You know why Ayeka gets like this, or at least you have a 
theory. Spill it. We're all concerned about Ayeka, and we deserve to know this."
          	"Yeah, inquiring minds wanna know," commented Ryoko. Yosho looked 
unsure.
          	"Who cares about some stupid story! Ayeka is very ill! We should at 
least take her to a hospital, huh?!" Tenchi yelled. He felt almost frantic. His 
scrubs against Ayeka's skin became more forceful.
          	Karasu put her hand on Tenchi's arms. An immense force of presence 
came over Tenchi, similar to the way it had when Karasu had announced she was 
staying in the Masaki residence seven weeks ago. "Calm down, Tenchi. You're 
obviously not thinking clearly. Taking Ayeka to a hospital would be about the 
stupidest thing we could do. If we did, we'd be confronted with a lot of awkward 
questions we couldn't answer and we'd probably all end up cryogenically frozen 
somewhere in New Mexico."
          	"She does raise a point, Tenchi," Kiyone said. "The Roswell incident 
has been a popular gossip topic among the Galaxy Police for decades."
          	"Back to the story, Yosho," Washu interrupted. "If I know why Ayeka 
gets sick like this, I could possibly fashion a cure."
          	Yosho sighed. "All right, I suppose it does make sense. It all 
happened 3,000 years ago, when Ayeka was born. Mother, Father, and I were all 
waiting to see her after the period of purification from the birth was over. On 
Jurai it only lasts about a week, and no one but the mother can touch the child. 
After the week was over, the child got a name. We didn't even know at that time 
if Ayeka was a boy or a girl. But not even a day had passed since Ayeka's when 
Aunt Misaki ran out of the birthing room, screaming that Tokimi had come for her 
baby. Funaho broke all custom and ran into the birthing room. Azusa comforted 
Misaki. I hesitated. I was only 4,750 years old at the time, which translated 
into the human chronology was about eight. I had aged more than usual before I 
was bonded with Funah'o, because humans age much faster than Jurians even with 
their trees. I was scared to go in, even though I wanted to, because in those 
days Tokimi, although abandoned as Jurai's sovereign god, still appeared as a 
figure which was used to scare children with. "Eat your vegetables or Tokimi 
will come for you," Aunt Misaki used to say to me. The desire to know eventually 
overcame my fear of Tokimi. I entered the room and saw a figure much different 
from the fanged, clawed figure of Aunt Misaki's stories. It was a woman, dressed 
all in red, with a headdress-like crown upon her wavy brown hair. I knew she was 
Tokimi because of all the ancient portraits of her that still hung in some parts 
of the palace at that time. She resembled a human in every way. There were no 
claws or fangs on her! But I couldn't help but notice that she had three gems on 
her--two on her forehead, one on her neck. As I watched, the baby who would 
later be named Ayeka shimmered and began to disappear, and so did Tokimi. I 
moved to stop her, but Mother held me back. Then, as quickly as she had come, 
Tokimi was gone. Ayeka reappeared, but there was a single red gem on the left 
side of her forehead. It was circular in shape, and crimson, instead of the oval 
wine-red gems that had been on Tokimi. Mother looked angry for a second, but she 
either got over it or suppressed her feelings. Then Misaki, much cheered up, 
went back into the birthing room, and we exited as if the intrusion on her 
purification period had never happened. When we got back, Father was gone. I 
have no idea where he went to this very day. When the week of purification was 
over, he was very displeased with his daughter. He seemed not to approve of 
Tokimi's gem. When Ayeka was bonded to Ryu'o, which was not an easy thing--we 
had to settle for a much less powerful tree than Azusa wanted and with a much 
looser bond. He had hoped to bond her to Tsunami back then, but Tsunami would 
not accept the bond. In fact, she wouldn't even let Ayeka near her. She was 
bonded much too early, but none of Mother's or Aunt Misaki's protests would 
deter Father. He even ordered Ryu'o's key to be fashioned in the manner of a 
tiara around her head, to hide the jewel. She had already grown her bangs long 
by then, but that was not enough for Azusa. When she reached puberty, 1,800 
years ago, she began to have these spells once every few hundred years or so. 
Since nothing in Ayeka's genetic pattern indicated that she would be suspect to 
this kind of illness--in fact she had a flawless genetic pattern, and anyway her 
symptoms did not match any illness known in the galaxy--I attributed the illness 
to the partial assimilation Tokimi had attempted so long ago. Mother seemed to 
agree. Azusa and Misaki searched and searched for a cure, but they found 
nothing. And that's all I know."
          	"Hmm," said Washu. "Any idea as to why the assimilation process 
failed?"
          	"No, I am afraid not," Yosho said sadly.
          	"You--you people all leave. You have chores to do," Tenchi said. 
"I'll take care of Ayeka. If something happens, I'll tell you."
          	"Can you come up with a cure, Washu?" Kiyone asked.
          	"I'll see what I can do," Washu said. "But if it's really a partial 
assimilation with Tokimi, this is out of even my hands." 
          	"Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Mihoshi said 
cheerfully. "Ayeka will get better and everything will go back to normal!" 
Everyone wisely did not respond to that statement.
          	"I'll do your chores for you, Tenchi, so you won't have to worry 
about that," Karasu said kindly.
          	One by one, they all left, and finally Tenchi was alone with Ayeka's 
prone figure, rubbing water on her arms and legs and cheeks to try to keep her 
fever at bay. He wished he knew what to say to her. If there was anything he 
could do to make her better, he would have done it. But try as he might, he 
could not manifest the Light Hawk Wings.
          
          	Ayeka lay in darkness. She could not see any part of herself, but 
she knew by touching herself that she was naked. As she lay there, she began to 
see objects in the darkness. There was a large gem around her, surrounded by two 
more, except they were circular and in a different color. Farther in front of 
her, there was an oval-colored gem, red, that seemed familiar somehow. As she 
looked at it, the larger gem suddenly vibrated. Pain lashed throughout Ayeka's 
body. She screamed in agony. And then, as abruptly as it had started, the pain 
was over. When she opened her eyes a figure was looking at her with interest. 
"Ayeka," said the figure. "How were you able to travel to me, in my prison?" A 
long finger traced the gem on her forehead. Ayeka realized with dismay that she 
was missing her head ornament, too. Even Kagato had had the decency to leave it 
on. "So you still possess the gem," the figure said in a voice that sounded 
feminine. "We still have the capability of becoming one. I only wish I had 
control of my other gems."
          	"Who . . . who are you?" Ayeka asked, afraid, both from her 
surroundings and the sudden closeness she felt for this woman.
          	The woman suddenly was shining bright in Ayeka's vision, with wavy 
brown hair, delicate features, and eyes that were colored blue with narrow 
violet irises. She wore a crown that consisted of one large circle and several 
plumes of red metal. But it was her lower side that concerned Ayeka. Her body 
below her waistline simply was not there. "I was known by many names. On Earth, 
I was known as Isis, Astarte, Aphrodite and many other names. On your planet, 
when I was still worshiped there, I was known as Tokimi. And Tokimi I still 
prefer to be called."
          	"Tokimi? But I thought you were only a myth!"
          	"I am obviously no myth. I had thought you, more than anyone else, 
would know that . . . But Misaki is your mother, and she raised you as she saw 
fit. Nurture over nature, I suppose."
          	"What . . . are you talking about?" Ayeka stammered.
          	Tokimi brushed aside Ayeka's bangs and revealed the gem underneath. 
"This is the last gem I possess, and yet I do not truly possess it because we 
are still mostly apart. You see, you and I are partially assimilated."
          	"Assimilated?" asked Ayeka. With Tokimi? How could this be? And yet 
. . . something inside her told her that Tokimi was right.
          	"You sound surprised," Tokimi observed.
          	"I am, but actually, it explains a lot," Ayeka confessed. "But why 
would you assimilate with me?"
          	"Before Azusa's time as king, it was a tradition for Queens of Jurai 
to also be High Priestesses of my worship. The kings were monogamous back then. 
This tradition is carried on even today in secret by Queen Funaho. They would 
share their menstrual blood with me in a ritual to bond to me. In order to 
assimilate with someone, I needed a descendant of someone who had shared blood 
with me. You were the first female to be born."
          	"That wasn't what I was asking," Ayeka said. "You're a goddess. You 
obviously have great power. Why would you need to assimilate with a mortal?"
          	Tokimi looked around at the darkness sadly. "Apparently you haven't 
noticed, but I'm a prisoner here. I suffer at the hands of a god who was great 
once, but when he grew old he lost most of his power. I tricked him out of 
kingship of the universe when it first began, and I and my sisters ruled. Now it 
seems he wants it back, and for the past 20,000 years I have been under his 
sway. And now, you too. I am sorry, Ayeka. I only wanted to escape D3's grip. 
Now I have involved an innocent person."
          	"You mean . . . this D3 person left you here in this darkness for 
20,000 years?" Ayeka asked.
          	"It's not darkness, Ayeka. It's much worse. It's nothingness. 
Darkness would have been much more preferable to this prison. At least in 
darkness you know there is always something there. You only see it as darkness 
because you lack the mental faculties to perceive what true nothingness really 
is."
          	"How can I set you free, Tokimi? Tell me how!" Ayeka demanded. She 
felt an instant affinity for the goddess, and also felt drawn to her.  She 
thought that being assimilated to such a wise and friendly entity would not be 
so bad.
          	"If I am free, we will automatically assimilate, no matter where we 
are," Tokimi said, obviously wanting Ayeka to consider her actions.
          	"I don't care about that! You deserve to be free! Where are you 
being kept!" cried Ayeka.
          	"Very well then, I'll tell you the truth. I don't know, exactly."
          	"What?" said Ayeka.
          
          	Meanwhile, in the Masaki household, it had grown late into the 
night. Tenchi was fighting a losing battle with his body. It refused to stay 
awake, no matter how many times he pinched himself or splashed his face with 
cold water. He needed to sleep. But Ayeka needed care more.
          	"Ten-chee!" Ryoko walked through the walls into Ayeka's room. There 
had had to be some rearranging of bedding for the night, and now Sasami was 
sleeping with Kiyone and Mihoshi until she got better. "You look tired, Tenchi. 
You need to get your rest if you want to grow up right!"
          	Ryoko looked far too awake for Tenchi's peace of mind. "Ryoko, Ayeka 
needs care, and I can't leave her."
          	"But you need sleep," said Ryoko. She looked at Ayeka and a sad look 
came over her face. She felt sympathy for her. She remembered all those times 
before she'd gotten her gems, when she'd gotten sick and Kagato had done nothing 
to care for her. And . . . there was *something* about Ayeka right now that made 
Ryoko feel more inclined to help her. "I'll look after Ayeka until you wake up, 
Tenchi," she finally said.
          	"And how do I know I can trust you?" Tenchi asked sarcastically.
          	"I promise I won't do anything to her, Tenchi. And taking care of 
her looks easy. It's just putting towels on her body to keep the fever down, 
right?" 
          	Tenchi was really too tired to argue. "All right, Ryoko," he said 
finally. He climbed the stairs to his room and was asleep even before he pulled 
the covers up on his bed. Ryoko clumsily tucked him in and then went to tend 
Ayeka.
          
          	"So . . . in this prison of nothingness you are cut off from the 
rest of the universe?" Ayeka asked Tokimi.
          	"Yes. It wasn't always this way--before I tried to assimilate with 
you, I had more freedom. I was allowed to roam the temple, as long as I didn't 
try to escape."
          	"But one day you did, and as punishment you were confined to this 
prison," Ayeka said sadly. "I am sorry to have caused you so much pain."
          	"Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault," Tokimi said. "I 
*think* this temple is located at the center of this universe, in another galaxy 
than your own. But I am not sure."
          	The huge red gem vibrated again, and Ayeka again was bombarded with 
pain on all sides. From the look of it, Tokimi was experiencing the same 
sensation. She did not scream this time. The pain seemed to matter less now. 
"Why does that jewel make us hurt?" Ayeka asked.
          	"D3 uses that gem, which contains my power stored over millions of 
years, to enact great destruction on planets, and then regenerate them in some 
way, only with the inhabitants psychologically rewired to worship only him," 
Tokimi said. "Again, I am not sure why or how. D3 never saw fit to share his 
plans with me, even though he always refers to them as mine."
          	"But you were saying you knew of a way for me to set you free," 
Ayeka said. "What is it?"
          	"You are aware that Zero, the copy of Ryoko who tried to kidnap 
Washu, is now assimilated with the real Ryoko?" Tokimi asked. When Ayeka nodded, 
Tokimi continued, "D3 put a memory blockage on her. But if someone should undo 
it, they will be able to come here. If the people who brought her here can 
figure out a way to restore my gems to me, I will be freed and will assimilate 
with you."
          	"Sounds good," said Ayeka. Then she flushed. "I should be getting 
back . . . they're probably wondering what happened to me. . .,"
          	"Ahh, Tenchi, the keeper of the Light Falcon Wings," Tokimi said.  
"Yes, I can read your mind. Don't look so surprised, Ayeka. I know him too. From 
before this universe was formed. He was my lover then. But when this universe 
was formed he was . . . lost. I was wondering what had happened to him."
          	"And if I assimilate with you, you'll help me make him love me?" 
Ayeka asked breathlessly.
          	"I can't make anyone love anyone. And although it was true he was 
mine in the last incarnation of the universe, things may have changed in the 
present one. But if he has tender feelings towards you, I'll certainly help them 
along!" said Tokimi, actually smiling.
          
          	Kiyone had gotten up earlier than usual due to the demands of her 
bladder. As she passed Ayeka's room, she saw Ryoko soaking Ayeka's skin with 
cold water. She had thought Tenchi was doing that.
          	"Hello, Ryoko," Kiyone said. "I thought Tenchi was caring for 
Ayeka."
          	"He has to sleep. I don't, so I thought I'd pitch in and help while 
he was asleep."
          	"But why?" Kiyone asked, sounding perplexed. "I thought you hated 
Ayeka." 
          	"I do," Ryoko said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's just that . . . 
if she dies, I cease to exist somehow also. Do you see?"
          	"I'm sorry, but I don't," Kiyone said.
          	"Well, I can't explain it any better than that," Ryoko said. "Sorry, 
Kiyone. I'll talk to you when Tenchi can take care of Ayeka again."
          
          	The prison around Ayeka and Tokimi began to dissolve slowly. "D3 is 
here," Tokimi said. "You have to leave now, or he will destroy you."
          	"But how? I don't even know how I got here!" Ayeka cried.
          	"You're not really here. Only your astral body is present. You must 
have been near death to be able to project so far. But you can go home whenever 
you want. Just will yourself home and you will be there."
          	"All right," said Ayeka.
          	"But Ayeka, if we don't assimilate, and we never meet again, could 
you do one thing for me?" Tokimi asked.
          	"Anything for you, Tokimi," Ayeka said.
          	"If you ever see Hinase again, tell her I'm sorry."
          	Ayeka's astral body disappeared as the prison around Tokimi 
disappeared, and D3 appeared around Tokimi's second gem.
          	"Were you talking with someone?" he asked.
          	"I thought someone was with me, but it appears I was mistaken," 
Tokimi said, keeping to that unemotional tone that D3 seemed to like so much. 
She had long since learned that it was wiser to pretend to go along with D3 than 
to oppose him.
          	"I have initiated a move against the boy who creates the Light Hawk 
Wings," D3 said.
          	"That is your choice."
          	"You do not approve," D3 noted. "Well, if the present move doesn't 
work, I have others tucked away. I will wear him down."
          	"Without doubt you will," said Tokimi. Inside she was roaring with 
delight. D3 had no clue as to what Tenchi's true identity was! No doubt he saw 
him as an aberration, not as what he truly was. Well, that was fine with Tokimi. 
The secret, if necessary, would be destroyed with her.
          
          	The sun was high in the sky when Tenchi finally got up. As soon as 
he came to his senses, he rushed to Ayeka's room. Ryoko, Yosho and Sasami were 
already there. "Has there been any change?" were the first words out of his 
mouth.
          	"Hello, Tenchi! See, I was true to my word and took good care of 
Ayeka. You missed a beautiful sunrise, by the way." Ryoko was smiling 
beatifically.
          	"Thanks, Ryoko. I don't know what I would have done without you," 
Tenchi said. Ryoko beamed.
          	"Actually, there have been some changes recently," Yosho said. "Her 
pulse is still irregular, but her fever has gone down."
          	"Grandmother, I'm sorry," Ayeka murmured. Tenchi kneeled down beside 
Ayeka. She was awake! "Miss Ayeka, can you hear me?" he asked.
          	"Of course, Lord Tenchi," said Ayeka.
          	"That's just great, Ayeka! We were all so worried about you!" Sasami 
declared.
          	"Really?" Ayeka asked, a teasing tone present in her voice that 
Tenchi had never heard before. "*All* of you?"
          	"Yes, Ayeka! In fact, Tenchi was so worried that he stayed in your 
room caring for you till past midnight! He wouldn't have left your side except 
he was almost asleep on his feet." Ayeka looked at Tenchi. He was blushing.
          	Ayeka's heart sang. She got up and slowly balanced on her feet to 
let her blood reach them. It was amazing what a change had come over her while 
she had talked with Tokimi. Instead of weak and lethargic like she had felt the 
past six weeks, she felt energized, strong.
          	Daring.
          	But a pressure rose in her that could not be ignored, and Ayeka, not 
realizing how uncharacteristic the words she spoke were for her, said. "If I 
don't go to the bathroom, I will explode," and headed for the lavatory.
          	"What do you suppose happened to her while she was unconscious, 
anyway?" Ryoko asked.
          
          	Downstairs, Karasu was watching the video Washu taped. She was not 
amused by its contents. Karasu was a family-oriented person, and did not like to 
see people manipulating or beating people she considered to be Family. What 
Washu was doing to Ryoko, who was flesh and blood Family to her, was even worse. 
*And* she taped it, of all things! "Washu is going to hear about this from me," 
Karasu said. "Family shouldn't be treated this way."